


The Future That Could Have Been Cannot Be

by MirabilisMage



Category: Magic: The Gathering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-04
Updated: 2017-10-04
Packaged: 2019-01-08 22:50:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12263679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirabilisMage/pseuds/MirabilisMage
Summary: Chandra and Pia Nalaar catch up after the Consulate's fall on Kaladesh.





	The Future That Could Have Been Cannot Be

The gears always grind in Ghirapur. Even in the dark of night, innovation hummed, as did the day-to-day metal of the automatons that served the city. Even if Chandra had little talent for metal craft, for filigree and machines, the hum of the city was in her blood. Why she was always restless, always itching for a fight.

And so much had happened in so short a time, now she could rest, should rest, and she didn’t know how. No Eldrazi, no Consulate, just daughter and mother. Every time she saw her mother, a tightness in her chest, a punch to the stomach: so much time lost already, so many memories that will never be, so many new connections to build. And with the hum and fire in her blood, Chandra knew she couldn’t stay for long, even if she wanted to.

Chandra’s perch, atop a former renegade tower, overlooked the city. Even though she was proud of what they had accomplished, she felt the need to leave, felt she didn’t belong. She had been a child when her spark ignited, had been on the run, had been a traveler, a student, a monk, a savior. She didn’t know this place. Or rather, she did, she knew it as a place of death and blood. 

She sighed just as her mother appeared with a teapot and mugs.

“Goodness! Is everything alright, Chandra?” Pia asked as she set the tea down and sat next to Chandra.

“What?! Oh, yeah. I was just thinking about the city.”

“Will you be heading. . .” Pia swallowed hard “. . .home after this?”

“Maybe. I should. I left in a hurry.”

“You do everything in a hurry.”

Chandra smiled. “Yeah.”

Pia looked out over the city, thinking of all of the families there. “Where do you live?”

“Keral Keep. It’s on a plane called Regatha. I was a fire monk.” Chandra grinned sheepishly at her mother. “Now I’m the Abbot.”

Pia’s eyes widened. “The Abbot!”

Chandra laughed. “Yeah. I’m pretty good at pyromancy.” She created a little fire in her hand, then extinguished it quickly. “I know you’ve been Renegade Prime all these years. What will you do now?”

Pia drew her knees up to her chin. “Bureaucracy, I suppose. A new government to build, and to ensure all citizens are treated fairly. I’ve been a renegade for so long, it’ll be hard to be something else.”

Chandra nodded. 

The women were quiet. Pia poured tea. Chandra drank it. Pia broke the silence.

“What’s it like?” she asked softly.

“Hmmm?”

“This traveling that you do.”

Chandra took another sip of tea. “You break apart and then are remade. You are the same, yet you are different. And the world’s different too and you have to be able to change, to adapt. Stars exploding and melting and reforming.”

“That sounds. . . unpleasant.”

“Yeah, the process isn’t great. It gets better, you can control it more. And it can be scary if you land somewhere you’ve never heard of. But it’s also exhilarating.”

“My daredevil. If you had stayed, maybe you’d be racing dragsters.”

Chandra laughed. “Maybe.”

Pia smiled even as a tear appeared at the corner of her eye. “I’ve often thought about the woman you would become. What you might do, if you’d marry, how I could use that fire to temper metal.”

“I’ve thought about you and Dad, and thought about us as a family. . . .but I thought you were dead, so I guess I never pictured that future.”

Pia stifled a sob.

“I’m sorry, Mom! I wish you could come with me. I wish I could stay.”

Pia took a breath. “Chandra, you have built a life for yourself. You must keep living it.”

“Well. . .since we have some time, why don’t you give me all of the ‘mom advice’ I’ve missed out on.”

Pia arched an eyebrow. Took a breath. “Trust your instincts. Be kind. Keep your workspace clean. Use the right tool for the job. . . .”

The future that could have been cannot be. The sadness for that can never be fully extinguished. But in the dark quiet of the city of gears, Chandra and Pia slowly built a new future.


End file.
